


He came from the sea

by Everydayishark



Series: What the water gave me [1]
Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Fluff, M/M, Two Endings, mermaids/mermen, merman Minhyuk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-18
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2018-07-24 20:46:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7522519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Everydayishark/pseuds/Everydayishark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hyunwoo finds a wounded merman on the beach and decides to bring him home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fish fingers

Hyunwoo has always loved the ocean. From a young age he would comb the beach looking for treasures, and he would collect sea shells and trinkets that had washed ashore. He would look for little crabs and starfish and study them curiously for hours. Years later, after getting his degree as a marine biologist, he still roams the beaches for treasures and little animals (only now he gets paid to do it).

It’s an early October morning when Hyunwoo makes his usual round over the beach. The sun isn’t completely up yet, painting the sky various hues of pinks and purples, reflected brilliantly on the endless waves. It’s cold, and Hyunwoo curses himself for leaving his gloves at home. He stuffs his hands in his pockets and buries his nose further into his scarf as he keeps his eyes trained on the ground. Every time he exhales his breath leaves little clouds in its wake.

Systematically, he moves along the shore line. He has walked this path so many times, he knows every twist and turn, every nook and cranny. He scribbles a few things down on his notepad, small observations, little notes that only he would understand. He pauses his writing as his eye falls on something strange.

Something odd.

Something _off_.

A little further along the shoreline, he sees the outline of a man lying in the sand. But the closer he gets, the more he notices something is off. First of all, the man is naked. His skin is paler than coral and his hair is so blond it is almost white.

Is he dead? Is he hurt? Is he dying?

Second of all, his legs appear to be covered in scales.

Upon closer inspection, the man appears to have no legs at all, no, it seems to be… a tail. A real, fishlike tail, scales and everything.

This must be a mistake. A joke. Or maybe just a really good cosplay?

Third of all, the man appears to be unresponsive and bleeding out from the large gash across his stomach. Hyunwoo’s mind races. Should he bring the man (merman?) to the hospital? What would people think? It would be bad if the media caught wind of this, they would probably put him in the limelight, parade him around like a circus freak. No, no, that would be bad.

Unsure of what to do, but knowing he can’t leave the man out here to die, Hyunwoo takes him in his arms. He is surprisingly light. If he wasn’t holding a half-dead mermaid man in his arms, he might have taken the time to marvel at the sensation of feeling the texture of the scales against his skin. He rushes to his car and carefully puts the man down on the backseat. He finds a towel in the trunk and ties it around the wound as tightly as possible, hoping it will hold out until he gets home.

Hyunwoo races back to his apartment. Luckily, his place is only a ten minute drive from the beach. He carries the unconscious man inside and lays him down on his couch while he scrambles around looking for his med kit. Thankfully, he took a First Aid class in college (which in no way prepared him to treat large, life-threatening wounds, but he takes what he can get).

When he gets back with the med kit, the towel is already soaked in blood. Hyunwoo wonders how he got hurt so bad. He hasn’t really had the chance to take a moment to realize that a) mermaids/mermen are real and b) there is one lying on his couch and c) holy shit mermaids are real, this is easily the biggest discovery of his career, and if the merman wasn’t dying he would be really freaking excited about that right now.

He cleans out the wound with a cloth and warm water, making sure to get rid of all the sand and dirt and salt. Once cleaned, the wound appears to be a little more manageably, and with all of his medical expertise (a couple of afternoon classes of first aid basics) he judges the wound can do without stitching so he bandages it up instead (which is good, because he does not know how to stitch a wound).

To his surprise, the man doesn’t feel cold, though his skin is starting to look a little ashy, at which Hyunwoo starts to panic. _Shit. Shit. Of course. Because he’s a merman he must have gills. He needs water._

Hyunwoo runs upstairs. The apartment did come with a bath tub, though it is hardly large enough to accommodate one small human (It certainly is not large enough for Hyunwoo to fit in, so he has been using the tub as a laundry basket), let alone a merman, but it is the largest space he can store water in without immediately flooding his entire apartment. He throws out the laundry and fills the tub. When he deems it full enough he carries the merman upstairs.

Hyunwoo is worried about the bandages getting loose in the water but they seem to hold up as he lowers him into the water.

Unresponsive, the merman sinks deeper into the water. His white blonde hair pools around his face, with his eyes tightly shut. For what feels like hours, the merman floats underwater, until slowly, very slowly, his lips part. With a loud gasp his eyes flutter open and water enters his mouth. Hyunwoo sees the gills expand, right underneath his jaw, and slowly bubbles rise up to the surface.

Thank god, he’s not dead.

The merman observes him curiously from beneath the water (though only his head is submerged, the rest of his body is awkwardly folded in the tiny bath tub). Now that his eyes are open, he sees that they are a brilliant blue.

The emerald orbs follow him closely as he closes the lid so he can sit on the toilet. He doesn’t want to scare the merman and he figures he might need a little time to recover from his near death experience. After a couple of minutes the merman carefully peeks over the edge of the bath tub.

“…Where…. Where am I?” He asks, his voice soft and wavering.

“Ah.. You are in my apartment. You seemed to be dying so I took you home.” Hyunwoo says, suddenly feeling a little flustered (Hyunwoo generally doesn’t take guys home BEFORE the first date).

The merman cocks his head. “…Home?” He looks at his feet. “Oh my god… you’re _human_.” He propels backwards, wildly trashing around with his tail in the much-too-tiny bath tub, before realizing he has nowhere to go.

“ _Please don’t eat me.”_ The merman whimpers, his body pressed flat against the wall, water sloshing generously all over Hyunwoo’s nice new bathmat.

“..Wah?” Now it’s Hyunwoo’s turn to look confused.

“Aren’t you going to try to eat me?” The merman asks while hiding behind his hands.

“Uh, no.” Hyunwoo deadpans.

“Oh.”


	2. sandweech

After a fifteen minute stand-off of Hyunwoo insisting he won’t eat him and the merman angrily splashing water at him with his tail, Hyunwoo decides to leave the merman alone in the bathroom to give him some time to calm down (and to change his soaked shirt).

He groans when he sees the water seeping out from underneath the bathroom door, all the way down the stairs. Well, _fuck._ His landlord is going to have a field day on that one. As he tries to control the damage with a couple of towels, he hears a small voice from the bathroom.

“…Human? Could you maybe.. come back?”

He sounds so scared Hyunwoo abandons the towels and hurries back inside. He finds the merman shivering in the corner of the bath tub. All of the anger seems to have disappeared and suddenly he just looks lost, even managing to look small in the tiny, tiny bath tub.

“I’m scared… and hungry.. and _hurt_.”

“I know, I know. But no one is going to hurt you, okay?” Hyunwoo says in his most soothing voice as he sticks out his hand. “I’m Hyunwoo, by the way.”

The merman looks at his extended hand, unsure of what to do with it. “Minhyuk.” He says, as he waves the fins on his tail (Oh my _god,_ calm your marine-biologist-heart Son Hyunwoo!).

“So, Minhyuk, how _did_ you get hurt so bad?”

Minhyuk lightly touches his bandaged stomach and winces.  “I….I don’t know. I swam out too close to the shore and then I got caught in a fishing net and I panicked. I lost consciousness and then I woke up here….”, He pauses for a moment, “…Wherever here is.”

Minhyuk looks around the bath room. Hyunwoo wonders if all the items are foreign to him, or if the merfolk know about objects from the human world. Judging by the way his eyes shift around nervously, he has at least never _seen_ these things.

“Can I get you something? Food? Something to drink? What eh… do you usually eat?” As a marine biologist, this is probably the most exciting thing that could happen. Discovering a new species, finding out its habits, its likes and its dislikes, what it eats, what it drinks, how it lives.

But also as Son Hyunwoo, who, as a boy, dressed up like a mermaid for Halloween (despite all his friends saying it was lame), the boy who idolized Aquaman, whose favorite movie was The Little Mermaid, the boy who dreamed about living under the sea countless times.

The boy who loved the ocean, more than anything else.

“Kelp, mostly. Coral, seaweed, seagrass, that kind of thing. Sometimes we eat crab or shrimp or mussels. Octopi. Basically anything that’s not a fish, and not too big.”

“You eat other sea creatures?” Hyunwoo asks, clearly shocked. Maybe it is because he has seen The Little Mermaid too many times, but he always imagined the merfolk to be vegetarian.

“Yes, sure. Don’t you humans also eat your fellow land creatures?”

He has a point there. Humans have tried to eat anything that moves for as long as anyone can remember. Hyunwoo is sure that if eating humans was considered _ethical_ , humans would eat humans, too.

“Yeah, that’s fair.”

“And we only eat meat on special occasions. We are mostly vegetarian.” Minhyuk smiles.

That _mostly_ satisfies his mermaid-loving heart.

“I don’t have any kelp though. I can make you a sandwich though?”

“I’m starving, so assuming your human food won’t kill me, I’d love a sand _weech.”_

Hyunwoo chuckles at his pronunciation and walks to the kitchen to make Minhyuk a sandwich. As soon as he has left the bathroom he hears the water sloshing, and he assumes Minhyuk has set out to discover all human things in reach of the bath tub.

He makes one slice of bread with cheese, and the other one with chocolate paste (the cheap off-brand version, something he has learned to love in his student days).

When he comes back upstairs he finds Minhyuk inspecting his toiletries (currently he is rubbing Hyunwoo’s toothbrush against his face). Toothpaste decorates the edge of the bath tub, and he sees his hairbrush drift in the water.

Completely ignoring the scene before him (as if mermen play with his sundries in the bath tub all the time), he sets down the plate with carefully cut sandwiches.

“This one has cheese.” He says, pointing at the one on the left, “and this one has chocolate paste.”

Minhyuk, clearly having lost the fear of death-by-human-food, doesn’t hesitate and shoves the cheese sandwich in his mouth.

“ _DIS IS GWEAT_.” He says, mouth full of cheese. Barely stopping to chew, the sandwich is gone within seconds.

“I never imagined cheese to taste so… salty!”

Minhyuk picks up the other sandwich. “Everything feels very different once it’s out of the water.” He runs his thumb over the bread crust before practically inhaling the second sandwich too.

“ _BY NEPTUNE’S BEARD_!” Minhyuk exclaims once his mouth is empty. “That chocolate stuff is fantastic!”

Hyunwoo smiles.

Despite his cheery disposition Hyunwoo sees Minhyuk is still very much in pain. His breathing heavy, partially from staying above the water for too long, but he is clearly exhausted. He sinks back in the tub and closes his eyes.

“That was great. Thanks, Hyunwoo.”

Minhyuk smiles sleepily as he slowly submerges his head underwater. He sleeps through the entire day, and Hyunwoo calls in sick so he can stay home the next few days, not wanting to leave Minhyuk’s side.

Hyunwoo watches the merman sleep, and he might just be the most beautiful creature he has ever seen.

When Minhyuk finally wakes up after a full day of sleep, the first thing he does is ask for another _sandweech_ with chocolate paste.

Hyunwoo snickers.

_Sandweech._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is getting longer than I intended it to be but the world needs more merman Minhyuk.


	3. stitches

When Hyunwoo returns to the bathroom after a short night of sleep, he finds Minhyuk floating around limply in the water. He is conscious, though barely, and his skin feels hot and clammy.

“ _Shit._ Minhyuk, you’re burning up. Let me check your wound.”

Minhyuk hums a soft affirmative sound and he lets Hyunwoo scoop him out of the bath tub with no resistance. His head lulls backwards dangerously, eyes half closed, arms weakly folded around Hyunwoo’s neck, and Hyunwoo has to rearrange his grip to make sure Minhyuk doesn’t bang his head on the door frame.

Again he is surprised by how small and frail the merman feels when he holds him in his arms.

“Minhyuk, Minhyuk, hey, stay with me. You’re going to be okay.”

Minhyuk slightly lifts his head and flashes a wavering smile. _“Mmm.”_ (it sounds confirmative but Hyunwoo isn’t entirely sure)

“How long can you survive outside of the water? Your wound does not heal like this.”

_“Mmm.. don’t know. Never tried.”_

The bandages are bloody again, so Hyunwoo takes them off so he can put on new ones. The wound is an angry red and seems to be leaking fluids. _Shit. Fuck. It’s infected._

Hyunwoo rakes his hand through his hair. He is not equipped to deal with infections, and the wound obviously needs to be stitched because it keeps re-opening. He looks at the beautiful, dying creature and he knows, he knows he has to help him. Hyunwoo takes up Minhyuk’s limp hand in his own.

“I’m going to help you get better. Hang in there, okay?”

Minhyuk smiles in slow motion, all his movements sluggish and lethargic.

_“Okay.”_

\--

Hyunwoo takes out his phone and punches in a number he’s known by heart for many years.

“Hoseok? Hi. Hey. Could you come over, like, right now? It’s an emergency. Also, please bring Hyungwon.”

Hoseok hears the tension in his voice, and doesn’t question why he needs him to come over at 9 in the morning on a Tuesday, instead he just says “Sure. We’ll be right there.” Coincidentally it is Hyungwon’s day off from work, so he is already with Hoseok when Hyunwoo calls. “Let me just find some pants.”

Hoseok and Hyungwon have been dating since freshman year in college. Hyungwon is a nurse-in-training, whereas Hoseok works from home as a freelance architect. Hoseok and Hyunwoo have been best friends since elementary school, inseparable all throughout high school, college and beyond. Hoseok comes out as bi in his third year in high school, whereas Hyunwoo doesn’t realize he likes guys until he is in college.

Hoseok and Hyunwoo have been best friends since elementary school, though you probably won’t say so at first sight. They bicker constantly, insult each other on a regular basis and their personalities could not have been more different. But whenever Hyunwoo needs Hoseok, he is there for him.

So Hoseok knocks on the door at 9:15, with a clearly not-awake Hyungwon in tow.

“Now, don’t freak out—“ Hyunwoo starts with a warning tone.

 “What did you do this time, set your apartment on fire again?” Hoseok grins as he steps inside.

“First of all, fuck you, that was **_once,_** in college, I was drunk, leave me alone. No, it’s…never mind, just look in the living room.”

Hoseok pushes past Hyunwoo, too curious to wait any longer.

“Now what could possibly be so important that we have to come here before breakfa— **HOLY SHIT**.”

Hoseok abruptly freezes in place. Hyungwon, who hasn’t said a word since he came in, bumps into him, causing him to look up.

“Huh.” He says calmly, as if he sees mermen on a regular basis. “It’s a merman.”

“ ** _HUH?!_** More like HOLY SHIT! Wait… this is not just some elaborate prank, is it?” Hoseok turns to Hyunwoo, who shakes his head.

“No. I found him bleeding out on the beach two days ago.”

“You found a **_MERMAN_** on the beach **_TWO DAYS AGO_** and you didn’t think to mention this **_WHY_**?!” Hoseok snaps but Hyungwon puts a hand on his arm.

“Shhh, you’ll wake the merman.”

Hoseok pouts. “Whose side are you on anyway?”

Hyungwon gives him a stern look. “Don’t start with me, Shin Hoseok, it’s before 10 AM and I **will** kick your ass.” At that, Hoseok slinks back.

Hyungwon turns to the merman. “My god… he got hurt pretty bad, didn’t he?”

Minhyuk has woken up and is visibly scared and confused, but calms down considerably when Hyunwoo sits down next to him (he also doesn’t have that much fight left in him) and squeezes his hand, as if to say _‘you’re going to be okay’_.

“Yes. I tried to bandage the wound but it keeps re-opening, and it seems to have gotten infected. He’s also running a really high fever and he can’t be out of the water for too long.”

Hyungwon nods, seemingly in thought, and snaps right into Business mode. “Yes. Right. Hoseok, babe, could you run back home to get some of my supplies? I need the black bag that I keep in the study, these antibiotics –wait, I’ll write them down” –Hyungwon pulls a notebook from his pocket and scribbles down some things, “they should be in the pantry, and some gloves and antiseptic.”

This is not a side of Hyungwon that Hyunwoo sees often. Hyungwon is a goofy, laidback guy who spaces out often and loves to sleep wherever and whenever possible, but once he is at work he becomes this no-nonsense, serious, hard-working nurse(-in-training) in the blink of an eye.

Hyunwoo admires this side of Hyungwon. Not even for a moment does he get thrown off by the fact that there is a _real_ merman in Hyunwoo’s living room. Hoseok hurries home to get the supplies.

Hyunwoo waits expectedly for his instructions.

“Now, Hyunwoo. I need you to get a bunch of towels to keep his tail wet. I don’t know if it’s going to help him, but it’ll at least cool him down a bit. I also need you to get a bucket of water so he can stick his head in there in case he runs out of oxygen. I also need scissors, your med kit, and maybe something to cover your couch with because it’s going to get messy. Oh, and coffee. I really, really need coffee.”

Hyunwoo scrambles to get the necessary items together. First, he makes coffee (he knows Hyungwon hates waking up early, hates mornings, and he probably woke them up with his call). He finds a large plastic sheet in one of the cupboards of his kitchen (he probably bought this one day for something and then promptly forgot he had it) to put on the couch.

Hyunwoo carefully lifts Minhyuk as Hyungwon drapes the sheet over the couch. Minhyuk’s breath feels hot in his neck as Minhyuk lays his head on Hyunwoo’s shoulder, and somehow the close proximity to the merman’s face makes Hyunwoo’s heart race.

Maybe it’s the fluttering eyelids as Minhyuk tries to look up at him, or the way Minhyuk’s perfectly pink lips are slightly parted or how his white blonde locks tickle Hyunwoo’s face as he puts his head back down on his shoulder. For a moment it feels like it’s just the two of them, and all there is in the world is Minhyuk pressed closely in Hyunwoo’s arms.

Hyungwon finishes putting the sheet down and just like that the moment is gone and Hyunwoo lays Minhyuk down gently. The plastic clings to his skin, but it’ll keep the worst blood stains out of the couch (some blood of the previous days had already seeped into the cushions).

Hyunwoo finds a large beach towel and wraps it around Minhyuk’s tail after dipping it in the bath tub. Lastly he fills a bucket with water for emergency underwater breathing.

Hoseok returns and Hyungwon starts setting up his tools. From the small bag he gets a thick, curved needle that he threads with a special kind of thread that is made for sutures (it dissolves on its own after a while. Hyungwon has explained how it worked some time ago but Hyunwoo has never really paid much attention when he starts to talk about medical stuff)

“Have you ever stitched a wound before?” Hyunwoo asks.

“Yes. No. Kinda. We practice stitching on pigs’ skin but I’ve never actually practiced on a human.” Hyungwon pauses. “Or a merman, for that matter.”

Hyungwon motions to Hoseok. “Could you give him the pain killers please? This is going to hurt either way, I’m sorry, there’s no way around that unless we have anesthetics, which we don’t.”

Hyungwon turns to Hyunwoo. “Hyunwoo, I need you to keep him as calm as possible. Hold his hands. Keep him distracted. Make sure he keeps breathing.”

Hyungwon puts on a pair of gloves.

“Alright. Let’s patch up a merman.”

 


	4. Operation Keep Minhyuk Distracted

Hyunwoo sits down next to Minhyuk and takes up his hand. “I’ll be right here. Just focus on my voice.”

Hyungwon disinfects the wound with alcohol before picking up the needle. Hoseok, who has been uncharacteristically quiet stands by and watches him curiously, but the moment the needle pierces the skin he averts his eyes.

“Oh dear lord no, you better start talking Hyunwoo before I pass out too.”

Minhyuk squeezes Hyunwoo’s hand hard.

“Okay, yes, alright, focus on my voice. Don’t look down, Minhyuk. Look at me.”

Hyungwon pulls the needle through.

“Ever since I was young, I always loved the sea. Like every other kid I built sand castles and collected shells, but it was more than that. I was _drawn_ to the ocean. I’ve always felt most at home on the beach, or in the water.”

Hyungwon makes another stitch, pulling the skin together. Minhyuk winces.

“I’ve been on the swimming team for as long as I can remember. I was slow on land, but no one could beat me in the water. It was my domain. Every weekend I would beg my parents to take me to the beach, until I was old enough to go by myself. I’d spend hours studying the small creatures, I was fascinated by the crabs and the starfish. Back in college I spent a few summers working as a lifeguard.”

Hyungwon makes the third stitch. For someone who has never worked on a living creature before, he is surprisingly calm. The stitches are a little rough, but they are steady, and they are good. Every time the needle goes in Minhyuk clutches Hyunwoo’s hand for dear life, but his eyes are steadily trained on Hyunwoo’s face, his brows furrowed in concentration.

“I studied to become a marine biologist. This means I do research about the ocean wildlife. There is more to it, but the most important thing is that I get to scour the beaches and the water doing what I love doing to most. It’s not like I always dreamed to be a marine biologist, as a kid I wanted to be the standard things kids want to be when they grow up, so I wanted to be a police man and a fire fighter at some point because I didn’t know you could have a job like this.”

Hyungwon makes the fourth stitch, which means the wound is roughly 1/3rd closed.

“At some point though I just knew I wanted to do something with the ocean. No, I _had_ to. There was really no other option. Up until college I was too afraid to follow my dreams. That’s when Hoseok got really mad at me and told me to grow a pair and follow my heart, and that’s when I finally went for it. If he hadn’t done that I probably would have gone to law school.”

“You’d make a terrible lawyer, you’re way too much of a softie.” Hoseok interjects.

Hyunwoo shrugs. “It’s true. Anyway, since my college didn’t have a swimming pool I had to find something else to do. This is when I discovered I had a passion for dancing. I felt the same kind of freedom I felt when I swam, almost like my limbs moved on their own, and everything felt natural and unrestricted. I joined a dance group in college and I practiced nearly every day of the week.”

Hyungwon makes the fifth stitch.

“But I missed the water. I missed the ocean, I missed the beach, I missed the sand and the brine and the seaweed. So after college I moved back to my hometown and luckily I get to do most of my research from here, though I also occasionally travel to other parts of the country. I don’t think I could ever be so far away from the beach ever again.”

When the sixth stitch is made, Hyungwon stops to observe his work. It certainly isn’t a masterpiece, and it would no doubt become an ugly scar, but closing the wound so it can heal is more important than aesthetics at the moment.

“Anyway, uh, I’m not very good at talking, I’m usually quite shy and awkward around new people which is why I don’t go out a lot. I’ve never dated anyone seriously. I’ve never been in love. But I’m not lonely or anything, I love the life I live and I enjoy spending time on my own. Besides, between work and dance practice and swimming I barely have any time to go out and meet people.”

Hyungwon makes the seventh stitch. Just one or two more and the wound should be closed.

“I read a lot of books, and I listen to a lot of music. I don’t have a lot of friends, most friends from college moved away very far and I’m not good at maintaining contact. Luckily Hoseok and Wonho live close by, only a ten minute drive. Hoseok and I have been friends since we were very young. I’m also pretty good friends with my neighbor, Kihyun, but he’s not home very often because he is a foreign news reporter. But whenever he is back he always has great stories to tell.

Minhyuk has been listening fairly soundlessly up until this point, save for a few sharp gasps whenever the needles would pass through his skin. Just when Hyungwon is about to make the last stitch, the thread snaps.

 ** _“Shit.”_** Hyungwon curses under his breath as he desperately tries to keep the loose end from slipping away and rupturing the entire wound all over again. Minhyuk cries out in pain as the thread pulls on his skin. Blood seeps from the last unstitched part of the wound. “Shit, Hoseok, grab a towel and stop the bleeding will you?” Hyungwon says as he re-threads the needle. Hoseok, who has not looked at the merman once since Hyungwon started stitching reluctantly turns around.

Hyunwoo notices Minhyuk has gone awfully quiet. His head is tilting backwards and he blinks much, too much. _‘shit’_ Hyunwoo thinks, ‘ _he’s losing consciousness’_.

Hyunwoo tries to think of something interesting to tell, something, **anything,** but his mind has gone blank. He sees Minhyuk close his eyes and he panics, so he does the one thing that has been on his mind for days.

Hyunwoo leans in and kisses Minhyuk hard on the mouth. Minhyuk’s eyes shoot open in surprise. With a beet red head Hyunwoo breaks off the kiss as Hyungwon finishes up the final stitch. Hyunwoo doesn’t dare look at Minhyuk, afraid to find him looking angry or disgusted.

After Hyungwon finishes stitching he gives Minhyuk a sleeping pill so he can sleep off the worst pain. Within minutes he is snoring softly.

Hyungwon strips off the gloves and admires his work.

Operation success.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday [WONDAGAY_MatiPatiMari23](http://archiveofourown.org/users/WONDAGAY_MatiPatiMari23/pseuds/WONDAGAY_MatiPatiMari23/)! <3
> 
> Also SHOWHYUK RISE


	5. Stay

Hoseok and Hyungwon return home after leaving the painkillers and antibiotics with Hyunwoo along with very specific instructions. No one talks about the kiss, and Hyunwoo likes to keep it that way.

For the next few days, Minhyuk spends most of his time sleeping, subdued by painkillers and antibiotics. His fever goes down and slowly some color returns to his face. For the next few days, they barely exchange more than a few words. Minhyuk eats, and sleeps, and eats, and sleeps again. The wound also heals, albeit slowly. Hyunwoo takes care of him, but never stays too long when Minhyuk is awake, always finding an excuse to leave the bath room.

Three days pass like this. When Minhyuk wakes up on the fourth day, he grabs Hyunwoo’s wrist as he tries to leave. “Stay. _Please_.” Minhyuk pleads softly. Hyunwoo averts his eyes, but sits back down anyway.

“How are you feeling?” He mumbles, never looking up. Minhyuk hasn’t let go of his wrist, so he stares at his hand, with his long, graceful fingers and his soft touch.

“A lot better.” Minhyuk says, and Hyunwoo knows he is smiling. “I feel like I can think clearly again for the first time in days.”

“Oh. And… what were you thinking?” Hyunwoo asks, though he is afraid he might not want to know the answer.

“That I haven’t been able to thank you yet. For taking care of me, and for saving my life, and for telling me about yourself. Just… thank you.”

Hyunwoo looks up, astonished, and indeed sees a widely smiling Minhyuk. Instantly, his face flushes. “So you’re not mad?” He asks carefully.

“About what?” Minhyuk asks, sounding genuinely surprised.

Hyunwoo looks down. “You know… about.. about me kissing you.”

Minhyuk tugs on his wrist, catching him off guard and he staggers, his face suddenly dangerously close to Minhyuk’s.

In that moment, Minhyuk moves forward, placing a soft kiss on Hyunwoo’s lips. The moment passes in a heartbeat, but the impact startles Hyunwoo so much that he sinks down on the bath room floor.

“Does this answer your question?” Minhyuk asks, and when Hyunwoo looks up he sees Minhyuk blushing slightly.

Hyunwoo rises to Minhyuk’s eye level. “Could you maybe… answer it again?” He says, too shy to look him in the eyes. Minhyuk grins and closes the distance between them. “Yeah. Let me say this loud and clear.”

Minhyuk cups Hyunwoo’s face with his hands and kisses him, careful and soft at first, but it gradually grows into something hungrier, hotter, and in something involving a lot more tongue. Minhyuk tastes like salt and sandwiches, like sea and summer, like chocolate paste and sunshine.

When Minhyuk breaks off the kiss to catch some air after what feels like an eternity, Hyunwoo can’t seem to stop smiling.

“Hyunwoo..?” Minhyuk asks.

“Yeah?”

“Can I have another sandweech?”

Hyunwoo laughs. “Sure.”

\--

Over the next few days, as Minhyuk heals they spend nearly every waking minute talking. Minhyuk tells about his life in return, about his brothers, about his daily life, about his dreams and aspirations. Hyunwoo tells Minhyuk more about the human world, shows him pictures of faraway places and famous people.

Minhyuk tries different kinds of food. When Minhyuk feels better, Hyunwoo carries him around the apartment. Minhyuk insists on touching everything, wanting to feel the texture of all the things he has only heard about in stories. Hyunwoo loves to watch Minhyuk in those moments, when he is completely engrossed in this sense of wonder and adventure, an unfaltering smile plastered on his face.

Hyungwon comes to check in on his patient once more, to make sure everything heals well and Minhyuk is healthy, but as soon as he sees Minhyuk up and moving, beaming happily as Hyunwoo carries him around, he knows he is (more than) alright.

“You’ve fallen for him, huh?” He says when he is about to leave, standing in the door frame.

“Yes.” Hyunwoo answers softly. “And I don’t know what to do.”

Hyungwon shrugs. “Follow your heart. Isn’t that what Hoseok told you?” He grins and walks away.

\--

Hyunwoo has indeed fallen for the merman, and he has fallen **_hard._**

Every time he looks at the beautiful blonde his heart skips a beat, every time he smiles he feels warm and fuzzy inside. Never has he met someone that can make him laugh so effortlessly. How easily he was drawn in to his open and easygoing personality, his warm and loving heart and his boundless optimism.

Minhyuk, in his turn, loves Hyunwoo’s endearing and caring nature. He loves that, despite the fact that he is so big and strong, he is vulnerable and shy. He loves the soft smile that plays on his lips. He is kind and gentle, soft and sweet and lovely, but fiercely protective when it comes to those he loves. Minhyuk loves, that despite being in an unfamiliar world, Hyunwoo makes him feel at home.

They both wish they could spend more time like this, in their own little world, but they both know Minhyuk needs to go back to the ocean, back to his family, back to his life, back to his world. They both know Minhyuk can’t live here, like this, in the tiny bath tub. They both know, but neither of them want to acknowledge it.

\--

Hyunwoo sits on the edge of the bath tub, thoughtlessly playing with Minhyuk’s hair. Minhyuk has his head in his lap, his fingers tracing lines on Hyunwoo’s legs.

“Hyunwoo…” Minhyuk starts, and he doesn’t even need to finish his sentence, because he _knows._

“I know.”

Minhyuk raises his head, and Hyunwoo reaches down to kiss him. The kiss is desperate, filled with longing and sadness and _things that can never be._ Suddenly the kiss tastes wet and salty, and Minhyuk looks up to find Hyunwoo crying.

“I don’t want you to go.” He says softly.

“I know.” Minhyuk says.

They kiss again, softly, and Hyunwoo’s tears mix with Minhyuk’s as he cups his face tightly, as if that would make him stay just a little longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *insert ugly sobbing*


	6. Final chapter v 1 - Live

Silently, Hyunwoo drives Minhyuk back to the beach. Now that Minhyuk has healed he can sit in the front seat, with a blanket to cover up his tail. Hyunwoo has given him one of his shirts, and it looks ridiculous on Minhyuk, ridiculously big, ridiculously long (but above all, ridiculously cute). When they arrive at the beach, Minhyuk starts to take it off.

“No. Keep it. So you have something to remember me by.”

Minhyuk looks pained. “Hyunwoo..” He reaches over and cups Hyunwoo’s face. “This is not the end. It can’t be. It won’t be.”

Hyunwoo averts his eyes, tears welling up as he tries to shake off Minhyuk’s hand, but Minhyuk won’t let go so easily and turns Hyunwoo’s face to him with his other hand. “Hyunwoo. Hey. _Hey_. It’s going to be okay, remember? You told me that.”

“How?!” Hyunwoo slams his fist on the steering wheel.

“I’ll come back to the shore. We can meet here on the beach. And I can come to your apartment, when you have days off. We’ll have to be careful, but I think we can make it work.”

Hyunwoo feels his heart might rip in two as he watches Minhyuk swim away.

\--

They agree to meet a week later, on a small part of the beach that is tucked away behind high dunes. Hyunwoo has never felt so lonely in his whole life as he does this one week. He keeps wistfully glancing at the sea, hoping to catch a glimpse as he scours the beaches, but never does he spot Minhyuk.

Nervously, Hyunwoo waits at the designated spot. It’s early in the morning and the sun hasn’t come up. The weather has gotten bad over the past few weeks and a thick layer of snow covers the sand. Every time the water stirs Hyunwoo jumps up, only to be disappointed when it’s just a fish or crab moving around.

Eventually, twenty minutes later, the water shifts and a blonde tuft of hair appears above the waves. Ecstatic, Hyunwoo runs into the water, not caring it is freezing cold, and he picks up Minhyuk and holds him in his arms.

“Hyunwoo?! Are you crazy, you’re going to catch a cold like this!” Minhyuk protests but Hyunwoo just pulls him closer and kisses his face, from the top of his forehead to his chin, to his perfectly pink lips.

Hyunwoo backs out of the water, but instead of letting Minhyuk go he falls back in the snow, letting Minhyuk land on top of him. With his thumbs he softly pushes Minhyuk’s wet hair from his face. “I missed you so much.” He says softly.

“You’re _definitely_ crazy.” Minhyuk laughs as he lets Hyunwoo pull him in even closer.

“You say that now, just wait until I glue flippers to my feet and join you in the ocean.”

Minhyuk is still wearing Hyunwoo’s shirt, although the color has faded from exposure to salt and it’s stretched from moving underwater all the time, but Minhyuk holds on to it like it’s a relic, refusing to take it off even once during the week.

“I wish you could.” Minhyuk says quietly.

\--

On the weekends, Hyunwoo takes Minhyuk home. It is only on those days they can truly be alone, spend some quality time, instead of hurried, timid kisses on the beach, in constant fear of being spotted.

Hyunwoo wishes he could freeze time, to capture those moments where they can be together without being scared or worried. In those moments that they get to be carefree and in love, like normal people, just Hyunwoo and Minhyuk.

Hyunwoo suddenly sees the ocean for what it really is; a dangerous thing, a treacherous thing, the thing that separates him from the one he loves. He curses the ocean, he curses the beach, he curses himself for falling in love with a **_god damn_** merman. He wishes there was a simple solution, a spell to cast, or a potion he could drink, but life can never be that easy.

But they make it work. In a world with no magic, no Disney curses or scientific miracles, they make it work.

Or at least, they try.

\--

On the days Hyunwoo doesn’t see Minhyuk, he feels lonely. Lonelier than he has ever been. Hoseok and Hyungwon try to get him out of the house, but the more they try the more Hyunwoo isolates himself. He is distracted when he works, he is distracted when he is at home. He often forgets to eat, he ruins his sleeping pattern by taking walks in the middle of the night, just staring at the sea.

\--

One night, Minhyuk and Hyunwoo lie down on the bed together, just silently looking at the ceiling. “What’s it like to dance?” Minhyuk asks. Hyunwoo has danced for him several times, and he would watch on in silent admiration.

“Hmm.” Hyunwoo hums as he thinks it over “I’d imagine it feels like flying to a bird. Or swimming to a fish. It feel so natural, so free, like I was always meant to do it.”

“If I had legs, I would have loved to dance.”

“You don’t need legs to dance.” Hyunwoo jumps up from the bed and pulls Minhyuk upright. He puts one hand around Minhyuk’s waist to keep him steady, and takes Minhyuk’s hand with his other. Minhyuk lets Hyunwoo lead him across the room slowly, slowly gliding around on the fins of his tail. Minhyuk puts his head in the crook of Hyunwoo’s neck. There is no music, but they don’t need it. All they need is each other.

\--

Minhyuk notices the change in Hyunwoo. He loses weight, and he is tired all the time. He tries so hard to be cheerful and loving around Minhyuk, and he IS, but his body just cannot keep up. Minhyuk hates it, hates to see him suffer, knows he suffers because of him.

Minhyuk tries to talk to him, but Hyunwoo is too stubborn, insists nothing is wrong.

“Hyunwoo, please. You can’t live like this.” Minhyuk begs.

“I’m fine.” Hyunwoo says, and that is that.

\--

Weeks pass and Minhyuk sees Hyunwoo deteriorate even further. He no longer even thinks he is human still, merely a shell of the human he used to be. He lives yet he is not truly alive.

Spring is starting to roll around, and they spend their morning on the beach.

“Hyunwoo..” Minhyuk says, the words heavy in his mouth as the shell of Son Hyunwoo looks up, and Minhyuk cannot bear to look at him.

“I love you. I love you more than anything, and I would do anything for you, so I’ll do this for you, even if it’s the hardest thing I’ll ever do in my life.” The shell of Son Hyunwoo shoots him a questioning look.

“I have to let you go.”

“No…”

“I have to let you go, you’re killing yourself.”

“No, no…”

The shell of Son Hyunwoo desperately shakes his head and takes Minhyuk’s hands in his and for a moment Minhyuk sees a flash of the old Hyunwoo, the one with a passion for his work and dance and his friends, the one that loved the sea, the one who was happy and content and alive.

“You have to **_live_** Hyunwoo, for yourself, not for me.”

“But what if I don’t want to live without you?” Hyunwoo says softly, tears streaming down his face. “What if I **_can’t_**?”

“I know you can baby..” Minhyuk hiccups in between the tears. “I will always love you, Son Hyunwoo. You’re the love of my life. But our worlds are too different. Our lives are too different. And I don’t want to be the reason that you’re miserable and alone.”

Minhyuk kisses Hyunwoo, long, soft, desperate, until he feels like his heart is going to burst and his eyes are going to dry out from crying.

Helplessly Hyunwoo watches as Minhyuk disappears into the sea, shattering the last few broken pieces of his heart.

\--

It takes several months before Hyunwoo can pick up anything resembling a normal life again. He spends the first few weeks in a daze, cold and numb and disconnected. Hoseok drops by to remind him to eat every day. Hyunwoo doesn’t know what would have happened if he hadn’t.

Somehow, weeks pass, and Hyunwoo is still alive. Somehow, months pass, and Hyunwoo quits his job as a marine biologist to pursue a career in dancing. Somehow, months pass, and Hyunwoo can go to the beach without crying the entire way.

And maybe, eventually, years from now, Hyunwoo will find love again. Maybe, years from now, Hyunwoo will look wistfully at the ocean sometimes, and he’ll feel nostalgic, and not even all that sad.

But for now, months later, Hyunwoo dances, and he eats, and he lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THERE WILL BE TWO DIFFERENT ENDINGS  
> one angst (obv this one) and one fluffy.
> 
> Also I'm sorry for breaking your (and my) heart.  
> Also blah this chapter is very disjointed maybe I'll fix it tomorrow when it's not ridiculously late


	7. final chapter v 2 - home

Silently, Hyunwoo drives Minhyuk back to the beach. Now that Minhyuk has healed he can sit in the front seat, with a blanket to cover up his tail.

 “When will we see each other again?” Hyunwoo asks quietly.

“Tomorrow. And the day after that. And the day after that. I will meet you every day until the day we can be together for real.” Minhyuk draws Hyunwoo in for a kiss. “You and me… we’re going to be alright.” He cups Hyunwoo’s face in his hands and smiles.

Minhyuk playfully taps Hyunwoo’s nose. “Hey, you won’t get rid of me that easily.”

\--

True to his word, Hyunwoo sees Minhyuk every day, although some days it is just a glimpse from afar or a chaste kiss beneath the stars. They meet on odd hours, late at night or early in the mornings to avoid being spotted by other people.

It’s more difficult in the summer, when the beaches become more crowded and there is no secluded spots to hide out in. So in the summers, Hyunwoo often takes Minhyuk home, after setting up a plastic kiddie pool (it’s small, but it’s heaps better than the cramped bath tub) in his living room.

When the weather becomes too hot they also spend a lot of time in the ocean, lazing around in the sun or holding swimming competitions (Hyunwoo is a great swimmer, but it turns out you can’t beat a fish hybrid).

\--

One day, when they’re bobbing around on the waves, the beach surprisingly empty for such a hot day, Hyunwoo asks if he can ride on Minhyuk.

“Wow, hey there, getting kinky before noon!” Minhyuk grins, causing Hyunwoo’s face to flush.

“T-That was not what I meant!”

Minhyuk swims close, just close enough to whisper in his ear.

“You can ride me any way you want, baby.”

Minhyuk adds a wink. With a beet red face Hyunwoo holds on to Minhyuk’s back as he gracefully cuts through the waves.

\--

Secretly, Hyunwoo has been saving up to buy a house on the beach. Although most beach houses aren’t intended for year-round living, there is no rule that says that you can’t, so after months of pinching every penny he finally moves out of the apartment and into a little house on the beach.

With his remaining lifesavings he builds a custom-made basin in the basement that flows into the ocean, with a hatch that can only be opened from deep underwater with a special key.

Hyunwoo officially asks Minhyuk to move in with him when the first snow falls, on his knees, presenting the key in a small box. Minhyuk clasps his hands in front of his mouth and nods so hard Hyunwoo is afraid his head might come off. He carries him inside (as if they didn’t feel like newlyweds enough already), showing off his new merman proofed house.

All the windows are covered with transparent film, so no one can look in (but you can still look out), there is access to water anywhere and all the furniture is water resistant.

“I love it.” Minhyuk gasps. “I love _you_.”

Hyunwoo’s heart feels like it might explode (but in a good way), and that night Hyunwoo gives Minhyuk a private tour of every corner of the room (the couch and kitchen counter are especially shown very well).

\--

Hyunwoo sits by the edge of the basin, watching Minhyuk swim. Though Minhyuk tries to spend as much time with Hyunwoo above the water, he always loves watching him in his natural habitat. Sometimes he worries about taking Minhyuk away from his home and his family too much, but Minhyuk insists that is not the case.

“Besides, this is my home now.”

Minhyuk takes up Hyunwoo’s hand and places it above his heart.

“My home is here with you.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \--DAMN FREAKING RIGHT IT IS.
> 
> Let's just say this is the real ending and the other one is a distant possibility because I don't need that kind of heartache in my showhyuk heart.
> 
> ANYWAY. Sorry, it's short (but sweet?).  
> Thank you for all your lovely comments, I love you all <33  
> & I'll see you at the monsta x bingo (are you ready for timetravel showhyuk?)

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be short! But I just wanted to write merman Minhyuk.


End file.
